Diggs kept one eye on her as he slowly turned in the water, making sure she fitted her hands on his pack, then began swimming steadily to Trigger. He heard the back door creak open, the sound quickly traveling across the water. He spared one glance over her shoulder. A tall man, staying in the shadows, had slipped silently outside and was now slowly assessing his surroundings. They were still out in the open. His only hope would be that the tall reeds would camouflage them long enough for him to get around the bend, and that the blackness of a moonless night would cover the ripples in thewater.
He reached Trigger, grabbed onto one of the loose ends of the straps holding the dog on the stretcher and continued. He kept all of his body, except for his head, under the water, kicking his arms and legs in a frog-like swim so as not to make anysplashes.
Audra’s breath sought in and out of her chest in short little puffs, and he couldn’t help but glance back at her once more. She was incredibly pale; her eyes huge and unfocused. Her body shook, and he knew she was on the verge of going intoshock.
“Audra, stay with me a little bitlonger.”
He kept his voice pitched low, so low he himself could barely hear it, but he hoped she could focus on it and stay in the present. It’d be a bitch dragging her and the dog both completelyunconscious.
“I’m okay.” Her response sent a surge of pride blasting through him. She was brave and he knew his instincts about her had been right. Audra had the soul of a fierce and loyal fighter. A warrior goddess, who even when she was faced with her greatest fear, wouldn’t back down if it meant protecting those sheloved.
“You’re doing great. Just hold on. I’m not leavingyou.”
Diggs heard the distinctive sound of footsteps on the grass nearing the lake edge. He had about 20 more feet to swim before they were completely around the curve in the lake. The GPS had shown it was shaped like a half moon, and he knew it would provide temporarycamouflage.
Then he heard the rustle of someone wading through the reeds, the same thick reeds from which they’d entered. He felt the shift in the air a quarter second before he heard the whiz. A bullet splashed into the water a foot away from his head. Diggs cursed and gave up the slow steady pace, kicking his legs with all his strength to propel them around thebend.
Audra gasped, shaking so hard her body bucked and sunk beneath the surface. Diggs kicked harder, using his momentum to propel them forward. They had to get around the bend and across the lake, or they were in fortrouble.
This time when she came back up out of the water, she didn’t fight him. He felt her weight dragging behind him and knew she was still alive. Trigger hadn’t reacted at all, which meant he was either unconscious or he was used to bullets flying around hishead.
“We just have to get around the bend. Stay as low as youcan.”
* * *
Audra didn’t bother tryingto hold in her shaking now. She heard the sound of the bullets plinking into the water near them. Another one flew and she winced, hugging as tight to Diggs as she could, ducking her body beneath the surface. Her vision blurred and her head started pounding harder, so hard she wanted to vomit but she kept her lips shoved together unwilling to let the bile rise. She knew she just had to stay with Diggs until they got away. Diggs would save them. Hewould.
Diggs kicked and propelled them faster. She couldn’t imagine what kind of strain it must be dragging her and Trigger through the murky water. Flat on her back, she did her best to stare at the cloudy sky overhead, making herself as small and unobtrusive as possible, even while pain pounded through hertemples.
Then the clouds suddenly parted, the bright blast of a full moon painting them in pale light. Audra sucked in a breath and Diggs cursed. A burst of bullets sprayed the water in a wide arc, drawing up droplets on their faces, but still managing to miss themsomehow.
“Almostthere.”
Audra dropped her chin, like she was watching a horror movie with morbid fascination, searching for the man shooting at them. Three stood at the edge of the lake. Dear Lord, she wished she hadn’t looked now. “There’s three of them,Diggs.”
“Don’t look at them. Focus on me. I’ve almost got us around the corner.” More bullets. She had a death grip on hispack.
“I trust you.” The words slipped past her numb lips without thought, and she instantly knew they were true. For whatever reason, she did trustDiggs.
When they finally made it around the corner, the barrage of bullets didn’t stop, but they were growing farther and farther away. Relief leeched what little strength she had left in hermuscles.
“I can’t see themanymore.”
“Audra, on me. Focus onme.”
And she did. She latched her gaze onto the back of his wet dark hair, marveling at the way he swam through the water like a predator. Trigger was as still as ever, even his breathingquiet.
The bank on the opposite shore seemed miles away and chock-full of thick grass and weeds, a few spots bare and slick, like the mud had been carved out in the shape of aslide.
“Alligator slides.” Diggs said as if he were reading hermind.
Audra’s stomach dropped. “Alligators?”
“Better than what’s waiting for us on the other shore. Hang on to me. I’ll get youacross.”
Audra wisely kept her mouth shut, even as she wondered if Diggs was strong enough to fight off a full-growngator.
He’d have to be since they weren’t turningaround.
